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Most Yamahas whether they are verticals or grands
seem to have their bass strings become tubby and/or dead after about 15 years or so. I've
tried to twist them and some sound better for a
while, but they eventually go dead again. I noticed when taking the strings off the hitch pin
that they weren't twisted at all. My questions
are: 1. Why do they go dead again? Is it because
the core wire has been elongated over time so the wrap can't "bite on" to it? 2. With Yamaha
having such good build quality and expertise, why
does Yamaha not twist bass strings?

Bill,

have you asked your question in the pianotech archives? http://www.ptg.org/

Several good people here to answer you, but you may get more response on the PTG site.

15 YEARS and the Bas strings are tubby????????
I have lots of Yamaha owners in my customer list and have not seen any 25 year old Yamahas with dead bass strings. The Yamahas I have had to do major restoration work on have been badly abused by the owners. Either in a bar or near the ocean.
It sounds like your Yamaha has a problem somewhere.

Hi, Piano007

Where I live in the Baltimore, D.C. area, many other techs besides myself have had problems with Yamaha bass strings going dead. This is particularly problematic on the grey market Yamahas from the 70's and early 80's. The ones that are less than 15 years old are geneally fine. I know that Yamaha does not twist it's bass
strings. If the ocean trip was the issue, then the newer gray market Yamahas should have the same problem. They don't. Young Changs,
come in foil sealed crates, just like Yamaha, yet
they still have a lot of dead monochord bass strings. Like Yamaha, Young Chang doesn't twist their bass strings. I'm not that convinced that contamination from the elements is the cause.

Thanks again, Ralph. I did look at the ptg site,
yet most of the archives dealt with contamination from bars and "moo shoo pork", i.e. possible greasy conditions. The others dealt with how to clean/twist bass strings.

Originally posted by Bill Motsko:
That is probably pretty close to the cause of this. The actual amount of core wire elongation during this time might be next to nothing but over time the degree to which the copper wrap adheres to the core has weakened giving rise to the dead sound(or buzzes as well). The solution would then be to twist.

Mark Mandell
www.pianosource.com

Really? Interesting. Why not just put a new set of good bass strings in the piano?

Core elongation really shouldn't be a problem or older pianos would all have that problem. It is starting to sound like a material problem. It may be a winding problem.
The last grey market piano I remember having bass string problems was a B- grade 1970 Yamaha G-2, and that piano had all kinds of problems.
The fact that you have seen Young Changs with the same problem makes me think it could be a problem with the way the strings are wound.
I would be very interested to find out what this problem is from. If you ever figure it out please tell us.